Beyond the expo win: Why global investors are flocking to UAE

Winning the Dubai 2020 World Expo bid has boosted the world's confidence in the UAE's economy, but the country's business and investment policies are also attracting innovation and new entrepreneurs to the country.

Political stability, economic growth and a balanced foreign policy are key incentives for the world’s leading businesses to establish their regional offices in the UAE, said Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the UAE.

Speaking at the second annual reception at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), for the nation’s top business executives, government officials and diplomats, the foreign minister said that the government attaches great importance to national companies with investments abroad. He asked the private sector to explore investment opportunities in emerging economies especially in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and East Asian countries.

“The coming years are very important to us in sustaining and maintaining our national achievements and in expanding the role played by the foreign, economic and investment policies in the global economy,” he said. Shaikh Abdullah said that the UAE ambassadors have been directed to ease all obstacles that could face investors willing to open businesses in the UAE.[3] He underlined the achievements made by the UAE this year, including ranking 33rd in the world in the Ease of Doing Business survey by the IFC.

Shaikh Abdullah said that Dubai winning the bid to host Expo 2020[4] after a stiff competition was a result of the world’s confidence in the UAE and its economy. In the Global Competitiveness Report for 2013-2014, the UAE advanced five positions in the competitiveness of its economy in one year, from 24th position last year to the 19th this year. On the federal government’s strategy to boost national economy, Shaikh Abdullah said the economic sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had adopted plans to support the country’s investments abroad and to explore investment opportunities in emerging markets.

Shaikh Abdullah said the UAE was supporting the Egyptian government’s efforts to support its economy and to facilitate investment there. The foreign minister pointed out that the recent GCC-Egyptian investment forum in Cairo, co-hosted by the UAE and Egypt, had achieved a positive outcome in attracting more GCC investments in Egypt.